Culture matters: The IT executive’s guide to building open teams

Learn how IT leaders can adopt an open leadership mindset that builds the kind of organizational culture that fosters innovation and keeps teams unified.

The open leadership mindset

In the wake of global changes, organizations are realizing why the ability to adapt and innovate is critical to their survival. But like a market disruption, innovation is unpredictable, something no one can adequately control—let alone plan for. So leaders are wondering: how can someone build creative, responsive organizations without prescribing every outcome, dictating every action, or planning for every contingency?

The answer, leaders have found, is organizational culture.

“Organizational culture” is more than workplace perks. It’s the result of a shared set of values, priorities, and perspectives that provide sufficient context and keep teams connected. Leading an innovative organization means building the kind of culture that will help an organization thrive during even the most turbulent times (not just installing new ping pong tables in the break room).

That’s why leaders are rethinking how they lead—how they inspire others, set direction, and respond to feedback. They must ensure they’re weaving values, principles, and norms into the fabric of their organizations so they can help people remain unified in the face of disruption.

Download ”IT Leadership in the Next Normal,” a Harvard Business Review Analytic Services report that reveals CIOs’ top priorities.

And leaders are letting open principles guide their work.

Being a leader in an open organization means making connections: linking people to each other and to a larger, shared vision. It means reconsidering your view of failure and cultivating a sense of ownership across the organization. It means being transparent—about the issues you face, the worries you carry, and the limits you possess. In short, it means creating the context others need to do their best work.

Some leaders believe that extending trust and working this way will somehow diminish their power. In reality, leaders should be sharing as much as they can with their organizations. Sharing information is how leaders begin to build the context that teams need to forge connections between their passions and the organization’s mission.

97% of global execs say transformation success will grow in importance in their industry in 2021

Building that context is critical work. According to the third-annual digital transformation survey by Harvard Business Review Analytic Services, 97% of global executives surveyed say transformation success will grow in importance as a competitive factor in their industry in 2021 and beyond. Eighty-nine percent recognize that the pandemic has underscored why the right organizational culture is important for digital transformation.

But the nature of work is changing. That means the factors keeping people invested in and motivated by that work are changing, too. Employees who feel like they have a real, personal stake in the success or failure of a project are going to funnel more energy into it.

Clearly, our conventional strategies for cultivating engagement may no longer work—and now is the time to reconsider our approach.

Learn how to create a culture of innovation in your organization. Download the e-book “The open organization guide to IT culture change”.